Community Highlight – Allia Lin

We love celebrating the success of our students! Today, we would like highlight Allia Lin, a senior in the Zoology Major. Allia found out about the summer sophomore apprenticeship program during the summer of 2021 and started studying Zebrafish larvae in Dr. David Ehrlich’s lab. Her work resulted in a publication in Current Biology, a peer-reviewed journal, last month. The study shows that fish at hatching possess several innate responses to sensory experience that help match their behavior to their surroundings.

Allia is graduating in May 2024, planning on taking a couple gap years to work and then hopefully go to vet school. She says publishing the paper was daunting at first but with hard work and support from Dr. Ehrlich and her collaborators in his lab made the publication happen. When not studying, she enjoys drawing and painting and spending time with her roommates. Her favorite course was Biology in the Popular Media. When asked if she has any advice to freshmen, she says “Join a lab! If you are considering or interested in research don’t be afraid to reach to your professors to get into a lab.”

Congratulations, Allia! We wish you all the best and success in the future!